Research and analysis

Children’s social care cost pressures and variation in unit costs

Study using a survey of local authorities and national data to examine reasons for variation in the costs of providing children’s social care services.

• From: Department for Education
• Published: 11 January 2021

Applies to England

Documents

Children’s social care cost pressures and variation in unit costs

Ref: ISBN 978-1-83870-064-5, DFE-RR959

PDF, 453 KB, 44 pages

Details

This study examines and seeks to categorise reasons for variation in the costs of providing children’s social care services and highlights reported cost pressures.

It brings together:

• a review of the research on the unit costs of providing children’s social care services, looking at the wider evidence base of demand and expenditure on children’s social care
• recent trends in national data from 2013 to 2018, looking at the cost of related social work activity
• findings from a survey of 13 local authorities on costs, demand pressures and suggested efficiencies

Published 11 January 2021